President Zelensky said Ukraine and the United States agreed to cooperate in weapons production, paving the way for a project to build air defense systems.
"The visit to Washington has brought very important results," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 22. "We will cooperate in a long-term agreement, Ukraine and the United States will jointly produce the necessary weapons."
Zelensky said that Ukraine's cooperation in arms production with the US is "historic". According to Zelensky, the long-term agreement will create jobs and new industrial bases in Ukraine, as the country's economy suffers amid the conflict with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on September 21. Photo: Reuters
President Zelensky said Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries, which oversees arms manufacturing, had signed agreements with three associations representing more than 2,000 US defense businesses on possible future work in Ukraine.
Ukraine has relied heavily on Western military aid in recent years. To reduce that dependence, President Zelensky and his team are pushing to reform the domestic defense industry, modernize local manufacturing facilities and increase supplies to the front lines.
Ukrainian authorities have approved a number of joint projects with Central European arms manufacturers to repair the country's tanks and other combat vehicles, as well as seek to develop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles.
The United States is the largest military aid donor to Ukraine, with a commitment of more than $43.7 billion. The United States initially sent small arms, then HIMARS rocket launchers, Patriot air defense missile systems, M2 Bradley heavy armored vehicles, M1 Abrams main battle tanks, and recently pledged to train F-16 pilots for Ukraine.
Nguyen Tien (According to Reuters )
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